The blockage of drains and pipes is an occurrence that affects millions of households per year. If not immediately cleared, a blockage could lead to a build up of septic and or putrid water in and around the house. Such a condition can often be remedied by the use of chemicals. However, chemicals are not reusable, can be harmful to the environment, present a potential danger to people that are exposed to or accidentally ingest them, and can corrode the pipes in which they are poured. The services of a professional plumber can be utilized as an alternative to drain clearing chemicals. While the use of a plumber would assuredly eliminate the blockage, it is significantly more expensive. The use of handheld devices is the remaining option to clear a clogged drain or pipe.
A conventional plunger, comprising a rubber suction cup attached to the end of a wooden or metal handle, is the primary handheld device used for clearing clogged drains and pipes. To operate, the suction cup is placed over the clogged area and the user forces the handle up and down causing the suction cup to create a suction force over the clogged area. This force either sucks or pushes the clogged material free, clearing the pipe or drain. Although plungers are generally inexpensive, there are several drawbacks to their use. First, they can require a significant amount of energy and patience to clear the blockage. There can only be a limited amount of force generated by the suction cup, and this force cannot be maintained over great lengths to remove any remote clogs. Thus, a user must continuously and vigorously move the handle up and down to create any significant amount of force. Second, using a plunger can lead to a messy situation, as splashing of water and material can occur if the plunger is not properly sealed to the drain or pipe. Third, the use of a plunger can be inefficient and ineffective if the suction cup does not properly fit over the drain or pipe, as the suction force will not be as great. Finally, plungers can be bulky and difficult to conveniently store.
Many drain clearing devices that try to eliminate one or more of the drawbacks of the standard plunger have been invented and patented. Pertinent prior art directed towards these drain clearing devices can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,128 (Lawrence), U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,114 (Christopher), U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,099 (Porcasi), U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,897 (James), U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,601 (Kou Hsiao), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,074 (Allenbaugh et al.), all incorporated by reference herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,114 describes a drain clearing device having a transparent and hollow cylindrical body, a piston plunger assembly partially disposed in the cylindrical body, a piston plunger assembly support attached to an upper end of the cylindrical body, and a drain seal attached to a lower end of the cylindrical body. The preferred embodiment of the drain seal comprises a half doughnut-shaped drain seal head formed from medium density, closed cell sponge rubber, a drain seal head bearing plate fixedly attached to the drain seal head, and a drain seal neck fixedly attached to the drain seal head bearing plate. The drain seal neck attaches to the cylindrical body in sealing engagement.
While this invention is an improvement over the standard plunger device in that it provides a means for observing when clogged debris are removed from the drain or pipe and provides better sealing, it still has shortcomings. This device does not provide for a variety of drain-sealing adapters that can be used to fit various drains or pipes. Additionally, a user must either rapidly move the handle up and down or continue moving the handle up and down for a prolonged period to create the amount of force necessary clear a large amount of clogged material. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.
The invention patented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,897 involves a plunger having a handle, an upper cylinder, a lower cylinder, and a nozzle. The bottom portion of the upper cylinder fits over the top portion of the lower cylinder. The handle may be grasped to push the upper cylinder down over the lower cylinder to force compressed air out through the nozzle, or to pull the upper cylinder up to create a vacuum to suck air and/or fluids up. A disc shaped piston compresses the air inside the lower cylinder when the upper cylinder to which the piston is attached moves down, and creates a partial vacuum when it moves up. The piston is attached by a rod to the handle and the upper cylinder. A spring in the space between the upper and lower cylinders biases the upper cylinder towards a set position with respect to the lower cylinder, and resists movement either upward or downward from the set position. Through the center of the nozzle is an aperture, through which air and fluids may move. The sides of the aperture are formed by an inner ring, which is surrounded by a circular cavity that separates the inner ring from an outer ring.
This patent additionally relies on an up and down pumping action to clear clogged material. While an improvement over the standard plunger, this invention does not provide for a quick, pressurized burst of air that can rapidly clear drains or pipes. Additionally, the design of the nozzle limits the types of drains or pipes that can cleared with this device. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,601 provides a drain cleaner which comprises a casing having an aperture defined in a first end thereof and a tube that is engaged with the opening. A high pressure can is received in the casing and includes a valve which is located in alignment with a shrink opening of the tube. A spring is connected between the can and an inside of the first end of the casing. A rod movably extends through a second end of the casing is pushed to move the can to generate a high pressure through the tube.
This patent utilizes a pressurized can to clear clogged pipes and drains. Although this invention is an improvement over the previously described devices in that it requires less effort by a user to clear a blockage, it does not offer a device that can be reused without the purchase of additional items. When the pressurized contents of a can are emptied the user must purchase a new can to unblock future clogged areas, leading to increased costs and time expended. Additionally, the user is limited in the type of blockage that can be cleared by the amount of pressure that each can possesses. Further, this invention does not allow the user to adapt the device to fit a variety of drains or pipes. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.
The plumbing device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,074 uses a compressed gas and a burst disk having a relatively even surface of substantially uniform thickness to produce a sudden discharge of energy to forcibly act against any obstruction that may interfere with the proper function of a drain. The plumbing device has a cylindrical chamber for receiving the compressed gas and may generally take the shape of a plunger, which is flexible to use and is easy to store. A portion of the chamber forms a receiving chamber with the burst disk for harnessing and directing the energy of the compressed gas to clear the drain.
This invention additionally uses a burst of compressed air to clear blockages. The device cannot be continuously used without dismantling however. After each use, the burst disk must be replaced by detaching the lower chamber from the upper chamber and placing a new disk above a washer secured to the lower chamber. Similarly, a new compressed air canister must be purchased and installed when the existing canister becomes empty. This not only adds increased costs, but also increased time and effort to use the device. Additionally, the amount of pressure that is delivered to the clogged area is not easily variable, but dependent upon the thickness of the burst disk used. For greater pressure released, either a thicker burst disk must be purchased and used or multiple thinner burst disks must be stacked together. Further, a user must stand and use both hands to operate this device, complicating and preventing its use in tight areas. Finally, this device is not easily adaptable to different sized drains or pipes, creating a scenario that is potentially conducive to inefficient and ineffective results. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,099 discloses a new and improved hand-held drain cleaning system employing pressurized air to dislodge clogs from a drain. The system includes a main housing defined by a handle component and a minor housing component. The handle component includes a rod and piston for use in delivering compressed air to the minor housing. The device further includes a spring-biased trigger for use in selectively delivering compressed air from the device into a clogged drain. Furthermore, the system includes a plurality of drain closure members of various sizes adapted to fit into various sized drains.
This invention utilizes a manual pump to generate compressed air for clearing clogged drains and pipes. Its substantial departure from the prior art lies in its inclusion of a plurality of drain closure members of various sizes adapted to fit into various sized drains. While an improvement, this device is deficient in certain respects. First, the forward portion of the device that stores compressed air has little capacity, either preventing the dislodging of larger blockages, or requiring multiple air bursts to do so. Second, there is no safety feature incorporated into the device to help to prevent unintended damage to the user. Third, the air discharge method employed has the potential to create air leakage after repeated use. A resilient spring is relied upon to rebound the trigger into a position to close the stopper and block air from entering the cylindrical discharge passage. After multiple depressions of the trigger, the spring can become less resilient and cause the formation of a less-tight seal between the stopper and the cylindrical passage. This can result in decreased blockage clearing effectiveness or increased costs for the user in having to purchase replacement parts. Finally, the force of the compressed air pressing the stopper against the cylindrical passage, combined with the resistance given by the resilient spring, can require a great deal of effort to depress the trigger and use the device. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.
The invention patented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,128 is an apparatus for discharging a high pressure burst of air against a column of standing water behind an obstruction in a drain line to create shockwaves in the water column to remove the obstruction, including a hollow gun body having a discharge opening and a pistol grip handle connected to the gun body. A discharge valve is connected to a piston dividing the interior of the gun body into two chambers, the pressurization and de-pressurization of which is controlled by a trigger operated pilot valve. Air is quickly exhausted from a rearward chamber by depressing the trigger and pilot valve, causing the piston and valve to snap rearward to open the discharge opening and direct a burst of pressurized air from a forward chamber to exit through the discharge opening and into a drain line.
This invention requires some type of air supply device, whether it be an air hose or pressurized canister. Additionally, this device does not provide a variety of sealable adapters that can be used to fit various drains and pipes. Further, this device does not incorporate any safety features for user protection. Finally, the discharge of the pressurized air does not occur in a directed and confined manner, potentially eliminating some of the effectiveness in clearing larger blockages. Therefore, it would be highly desireable to have a self-contained and easy to operate handheld device that allows for the rapid, clean, environmentally-safe, cost-effective, and readily repeatable clearing of a variety of clogged drains and pipes.